Home network optimizing system

• US 9,026,639 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2007
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Pure Networks, LLC
• Inventors: Kelley, Steve, Wilson, Jeremy, Erwin, Jeff
• Primary Examiner(s): Hussain, Imad
• Application Number:
  US11/867,678
• Publication Number:
  US 20090052338A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,770 Days
• Field of Search: 709223-224, 709/247, 709/230, 455/445, 455/466, 370/398, 370/235, 370/236, 370/241, 370/252, 370/395.21, 370/401, 370/234, 370/395.32, 717/172, 713/201, 726/12, 726/22, 379/269, 707/102
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2803 Home automation networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring

Abstract

A system for optimizing a network having a plurality of network devices. The system includes a network monitoring tool simultaneously executable on at least one of the network devices and configured to diagnose a condition of the network. The network monitoring tool includes an information collection module configured to collect an information set relating to performance of each of the network devices, an action module configured to execute an action in response to the information set, the action relating to a diagnosed condition of the network, and an information transmission module configured to transmit the information set to an electronic device remote from the network. The system further includes a configuring tool executable on a server computing device. The configuring tool includes an information receiving module configured to receive the information set, and a programming module configured to configure the network monitoring tool based on the received collected information.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

one or more processors; and

logic encoded in one or more tangible media for execution by the one or more processors, and when executed operable to;

collect a first information set relating to performance of each network device in a first network having a plurality of network devices, wherein the first information set includes an instance identifier, which is formed by concatenating several names associated with data passing through at least one adapter;

execute a predetermined action in response to at least a portion of the first information set, the predetermined action relating to a diagnosed condition of the first network, wherein an evaluation is executed for different instances of data being delivered to a first network device and a second network device respectively, the first and second network devices being part of the network devices of the first network, wherein the predetermined action is configured to terminate a first connection of the first network device engaged in a peer-to-peer (P2P) application after communicating an alert message to the second network device, and wherein the predetermined action is configured to transmit, via a wide-area network, a configuration request and at least a portion of the first information set to an electronic device remote from the first network, and wherein the alert message is indicative of bandwidth consumption for the first network device exceeding a threshold defined in the predetermined action; and

receive, from a programming module outside of the first network, configuration data to mitigate the bandwidth consumption for the first network device exceeding the threshold.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a network monitoring tool simultaneously executable on at least one network device of a plurality of network devices of a second network and configured to diagnose at least one condition of the second network, the network monitoring tool comprising;

an information collection module configured to collect a second information set relating to each of the network devices of the second network, and

an information transmission module configured to transmit at least a portion of the second information set to an electronic device remote from the second network; and

wherein an information receiving module is configured to receive the second information-set portion, and

the programming module is configured to configure the configuration data based on the second information-set portion.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the programming module is further configured to configure the network monitoring tool based on the first information-set portion.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein a first network monitoring tool comprises a set of at least one configuration files enabling the programming module to configure the first network monitoring tool.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the first network monitoring tool further comprises a rules engine configured to evaluate the first information-set portion and, based on at least one rule of the configuration-file set, invoke the predetermined action.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the programming module configures the first network monitoring tool by populating the configuration-file set with a set of at least one rules.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the predetermined action comprises invocation of a diagnostic operation for determining a status of a selected one of the network devices.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the programming module configures the first network monitoring tool by populating the configuration-file set with a set of at least one diagnostic descriptions.

9. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the programming module configures the first network monitoring tool by populating the configuration-file set with a set of at least one rules, at least one of the rules being created in response to receiving the configuration request.

10. A method of optimizing a first network having a plurality of network devices, the method to be implemented in an electronic environment in which a processor is involved in routing packets in a network environment, the method comprising:

providing via a wide-area network a first network monitoring tool to the first network, the first network monitoring tool simultaneously executable on at least one of the network devices, the first network monitoring tool configured to diagnose at least one condition of the first network;

automatically collecting from the first network a first information set relating to performance of each of the network devices of the first network, wherein the first information set includes an instance identifier, which is formed by concatenating several names associated with the data passing through at least one adapter;

automatically configuring via the wide-area network the first network monitoring tool based on the first information set;

evaluating the first information-set portion and invoking a predetermined action related to a diagnosed condition of the first network, wherein an evaluation is executed for different instances of data being delivered to the first network device and a second network device respectively, the first and second network devices being part of the network devices of the first network, wherein the predetermined action is configured to terminate a first connection of the first network device engaged in a peer-to-peer (P2P) application after communicating an alert message to the second network device, and wherein the predetermined action is configured to transmit, via the wide-area network, a configuration request and at least a portion of the first information set to an electronic device remote from the first network, and wherein the alert message is indicative of bandwidth consumption for the first network device exceeding a threshold defined in the predetermined action; and

receiving, from a programming module outside of the first network, configuration data to mitigate the bandwidth consumption for the first network device exceeding the threshold.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the steps of:

providing via the wide-area network a second network monitoring tool to a second network, the second network monitoring tool simultaneously executable on at least one network device of a plurality of network devices of the second network, the second network monitoring tool configured to diagnose at least one condition of the second network;

automatically collecting from the second network a second information set relating to performance of each of the network devices of the second network; and

automatically configuring via the wide-area network the first network monitoring tool based on the second information set.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the step of configuring the second network monitoring tool based on the first information-set portion.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the first network monitoring tool comprises a set of at least one configuration files enabling the automatic configuration of the first network monitoring tool.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the first network monitoring tool further comprises a rules engine configured to evaluate the first information-set portion and, based on at least one rule of the configuration-file set, invoke a predetermined action related to a diagnosed condition of the first network.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein configuring the first network monitoring tool comprises populating the configuration-file set with a set of at least one rules.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the predetermined action comprises invocation of a diagnostic operation for determining a status of a selected one of the network devices.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein configuring the first network monitoring tool comprises populating the configuration-file set with a set of at least one diagnostic descriptions.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein configuring the first network monitoring tool comprises populating the configuration-file set with a set of at least one rules, at least one of the rules being created in response to receiving the invoked diagnostic.

19. The method of claim 10 wherein the first network monitoring tool is configured in response to receiving a configuration request from the first network.

20. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of using the first information set to provide electronic customer service assistance to a proprietor of the first network.